Antidimmer for respirators and the like



A. B. LAMB. ANTIDIMMER FOR RESPIRATORS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 17, I920.

Patented May 30, 1922.

- in Washington, District of Columbia, have a To (ZZZ whom it comer n:

anraiia ix. mm, or WASHINGTON, insurer or COLUMBIA.

ummer. ron nnsrma'rons n THE LIKE.

Be it known'that I, ARTHUR B. LAMB,,a citizen of the United States, andresiding invented certain new and useful Improve:

. merits in Antidimmers for Respirators and Y the like, of which thefollowing is a specifi 1 Many attempts have cation.

This. invention relates to respirators or gas masks of the type whereinboth the purified and exhaled air are allowed to flow through theinterior of the face-piece of the mask coming in contact with the lensesand alsothe type wherein a mouth-piece is employed for inhaling andexhaling air. In respirators as previously made, the moisture laden airupon being exhaled would strike the lenses which are usually atsuchatemperature as to cause the temperature of the warm, moist air tofall-below its dew' point and deposit water, this obscuring the vision.been made to remedy this defect by various expedients such as drawingthe air to be breathed over the lenses and by the use of antidimmingcomyositions which gave only temporary relief.

elatine or cellulose acetate lenses hitherto used are alsounsatisfactory;in that they.

soften and become distorted. under service conditions.

Among the objects of this invention is the production of a respiratorwhich shall not e subject to dimming of the lenses and in order toaccomplish this I provide a device arrangement out a large part of themoisture from the exhaled air or air which has derived its which formsthe eye-piece and includes an of members which precipitate moisture fromother sources such asfrom the face and eyes before it reaches thelenses,

.thuspreventing v ciable amounts of water on the same,

respirator "so constructed is of furtherjadvantage in that the eye-pieceneeds no attention from the wearer, and there are no spare parts .to becarried, bulky wiping folds in the face-piece are made unnecessary, thevision is clear at all times, and the eye-piece isheld always in theproper position in front of the eyes. 7

rovide an eye-piece utilizing the conductivity of difierent materials asthe underlying principle. .Acooling or radiating membeniswattached tothe respirator in'such a manner that "the exhaled or humid air comes incontact with a portion of the same the deposition of appre-Specification of Letters Patent. P tent d M 30, 1922, Application filedJune 17, 1920. sem no.'ssa,eeo.

beforeireaching the lens. The dew point of the'air is raised by thecondensation of water vapor upon the cooling member so that-little orno-moisture condenses upon the lens. 'To, further prevent dimming thelenses may be heated by a specially constructed device which has theadditional function of holdin the'respirator in'its ad-J the hygroscopicmaterial and made to run out into a film. Each'of the above improvementss considered a distinct advance in the is used, the condensed'water'isabsorbed by construction of respirators and various combinations of-myimprovements are prefer: ably made to adapt the invention to variousWorking conditions.

- In the -accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred mbodimentof the invention, Fig. 1 repre nts an exterior view piece, some partsbeing broken away to more clearly illustrate the manner in which theparts are assembled, and Fig. 5'. shows the eye-piece separate fromcertain of its, ac-

cessories.

of the improved respirator in adjusted posi- The 'facepiece 1 of therespirator which is of ordinary construction is held to the head of thewearer by flexible bands 2 and has inlet and exhaust passages 3 and ,4,respectively, of any well known construction. The specially constructedeye-piece is formed of a radiator 5 which is preferably a thin metallicsheet, as of aluminum, having-openings 9 formed therein to correspondwith the ordinary eye-pieces The radiator 5 is joined to a cylindricalmember 6 whichis placed-in the opening9; and extends inwardly and at itsinnermost portion is covered by a disk 7 which carries a. grid-orcondenser-8, all these parts being, preferably .of

aluminum. This grid also serves as aprotection to the eyeof the wearer,especially in case the lens becomes-broken. A set of.

lenses 10 comprising preferablyinner and the cylinder and the lenses.

outer lenses 11 and 12 are fitted into an insulating ring 13 madepreferably of hard rubber. The ring fits tightly into the metalliccylinder 6 but prevents contact between The inner lens is bound by ametallic ring 14 which in turn is connected to upper and lower metallicbars 15 and 16, respectively, which are connected with face pieces 17and 18, respectively, the upper one of which is adapted to rest upon theforehead of the wearer and the lower upon the cheek. The bars 15 and 16pass through openings 19 in the cylinder 6 and are held spaced from thecylinder by the inshlating ring 13. 1

The embodiment shown in Fig. 5 difi'ers but slightly from the form abovedescribed and comprises the radiator 5, the cylinder 6 and ring 7carrying the grid 8. A set of lenses 10 is placed as above indicated inposition within the cylinder 6, the bars and accompanying face-piecesbeing omitted. If desired aring carrying a disk of surface hydrolyzedcellulose acetate may be placed upon the lenses of either form ofeye-piece.

In use the action of the device is as follows:

The respirator is adjustedon the face and exhaled air flows in thedirection of the lenses. The outer air which is usually colder than theexhaled air cools the radiator 5 which conducts away heat from the grid8 cooling it so that when the warm moist exhaled air strikes the grid alarge portion of its contained moisture is condensed and flows down. Foradditional protection against a deposition of water on the inner lens11, the two lenses 11 and '12 are separated by an air-space whichdecreases'the cooling effect of the outer air. The inner lens is furtherheated by the heat of the' body conducted by means of the face-pieces 17and 18 through'the connecting bars to the encircling ring 14. By thetwofold action, first, the coo-ling of the moist air and, second, theheating effect of the lens ractically no deposition of water on the fanscan take place under even the most unfavorable field lens .need notnecessarily come from the facebut may bederived from some other source;furthermore, the introductionof heat to the eye-piece lens is notlimited to the use of the circular metallic ring 14, in fact in someinstances it may prove desirable to place metallic strips across theeye-piece to facilitate the transfer of heat to the same.

The principles set forth herein are not limited to eye-pieces oreye-pieces of res pirators. In fact these principles may be adapted, bysuitable means, to keeping moisture away from other surfaces, e. g.,-

glass windows, goggles, etc.

Although I have described a specific form of eye-piece, I do not intendto limit myself to this embodiment of my invention but what I claim isbroadly the idea of utilizing the heat conductivity of differentmaterials as above described except as limited by the following claims:

iWhat I claim is:

1. Means for preventing condensation of water on substances having onesurface exposed to warmer atmosphere than the opposite surfacecomprising a cooling element serving as a condenser in close proximityto and coextensive with the surface exposed to the warmer atmosphere.

2. Means for preventing condensation of water on substances having onesurface exposed to warmer atmosphere than the opposite surfacecomprising a cooling element serving as a condenser in close proximityto the surface exposed to the warmer atmosphere and a radiator having arelatively 1arge area exposed to the colder atmosphere and directlyconnected to said condenser.

3. Means for preventing condensation of water on windows and other glassobjects having one side exposed to a warmer and more humid atmospherethan the opposite side comprising a metallic radiator of relativelylarge area exposed to the colder atmosphere and directly connected to acondenser in close proximity to the glass surface exposed to the warmeratmosphere.

4:. An eye-piece for respirators comprising a radiator on the exteriorof the respirator directly connected to a condenser disposed to assume aposition between the lens of the eye-piece and face of the wearer.

5. An eye-piece for respirators comprising a 'metallic radiator ofrelatively large area on the exterior of the respirator directlyconnected to a vertical, metallic grid disposed to assume a :positionbetween the lens of eye-piece and face of the wearer.

6. An eye-piece comprising a cylinder ofconducting material forming alensspace, a radiator having a relatively large area exposed to theoutside atmosphere connected to said cylinder and to a metallic gridserving as a condenser.

. Means for preventin condensation of water on a lens dispose in aneye-piece comprising a heating element adapted to be connected to theeye-piece. v p

8. In combination with an eye-piece, means for preventing condensationof water on a' lens disposed in said eye-piece comprising a heatingelement connected to said eye-piece.

9. An eye-piece for respirators comprising a lens, a conducting memberconnected thereto and means for conducting heat from the face of thewearer to the lens throng said conducting member.

-and means for conducting heat from theface of the wearer to the lensthrough said metallic ring comprising a heating element having aconducting bar and a face-piece.

11. An eye-piece for respirators including a lens held by a metallicring, conducting bars leading fromthe upper and lower ends of said ringand face-pieces connected to same adapted to contact with the foreheadand cheek, respectively, of the wearer.

12. Means for preventing condensation of moisture on windows, lenses andthe like,

comprising a. condenser for taking up mo1s-' ture from the air beforereaching the glass surface, said condenser being connected to a radiatorfor cooling same and a heating element connected directly to the glass0b- 380i 13; In a resplrator, means for preventing condensation of wateron lens of eye-piece comprising cooling and heat'in elements connectedto said eye-piece an insulated from each other. v

14. An eye-piece for respirators comprising a cylinder of conductingmaterial, a nonconducting ring within the same carrymg the lens andinsulating the lens from the cylinder, said cylinder and lens beingconnected with. cooling and heating elements, respectively. I v

15. Ane e-piecefor respirators comprising a meta lic cylinder andinsulating ring set into the same, a lens set in said ring,

metallic face-pieces connected to said lens through bars'andencirclingring, a metallic grid placed between the lens and the face of the wearerand directly connected to the cylinder a radiator connected to theexterior of the face-piece, the heating and cooling elements beingsubstantially completely insulated from each other.

16. In combination, a lens set comprising plurality of lenses separatedby an airspace and means for removing by condensation moisture 'fromairbefore reaching the surface of the lens exposed to hum1d atmosere. p17. A lens set comprising a holding, insulating ring in which is set aplurality of lenses separated by an air space, one of said lenses beingsurfaced with -a material integral therewith for preventingsame from.becoming dimmed.

18. A lens set comprising a holding, insulating ring in whichis set aplurality of lenses separated by an air space, one of said lenses beingsurfaced with hydrolyzed cellulose acetate integral therewith forpreventing same from becoming dimmed.

19. In an eye-piece, a lens surfaced with a material for preventing samefrom becoming. dimmed and means for removing by condensation themoisture from air before reaching said lens.

20. In an eye-piece, a lens surfaced with a material for preventing samefrom becoming dimmed, means for removing by condensation the moisturefrom the. air before reaching said lens 'and means for heatingsaid'lens.

21. In an eye-piece, a'lens surfaced with hydrolyzed cellulose acetatefor preventing same from becoming dimmed and means for removing bycondensation the moisture from air before reaching said lens.

22. In an eye-piece, a lens surfaced with hydrolyzed cellulose acetatefor preventing I same from becoming dimmed, means for removin bycondensation the moisture from' air be ore reaching said lens and meansfor

